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Merrill Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
1035th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,044 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 1% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Merrill Elementary is a public elementary school in Beloit, Wisconsin, serving 270 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Beloit School District, which is ranked 420 out of 426 school districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Merrill Elementary faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, and a very high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 2.63% of 3rd graders, 0% of 4th graders, and 7.41% of 5th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the Beloit School District averages of 14.2%, 20.63%, and 17.53%, respectively. The school's performance has declined over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 529 out of 632 Wisconsin elementary schools in the 2004-2005 school year to 1035 out of 1044 in the 2024-2025 school year.

Interestingly, Merrill Elementary's academic performance is significantly lower than that of nearby schools in the Beloit School District, such as Hackett Elementary, Converse Elementary, Gaston Elementary, and Todd Elementary, which all have higher proficiency rates on the Forward Exam. Despite the high level of economic disadvantage among Merrill Elementary's student population, the school's per-student spending is not significantly higher than the nearby schools, suggesting a potential lack of targeted resources and support for the students.

224
Students ?
10.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,789
Per pupil spending ?
83.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1635 Nelson Ave
       Beloit, WI  53511

(608) 361-2605

District: Beloit School District


Students who attend Merrill Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Aldrich Intermediate
High:    Memorial High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
55.4%
Hispanic:
21.4%
White:
12.1%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Merrill Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2004 → 1st in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (5% vs 54% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (50% vs 17% Wisconsin)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school5%
District avg21%
Wisconsin avg54%
1,035th of 1,044
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 2 pts since 2024
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
6th of 6Elementary Schools in the Beloit School District
420th of 426Beloit School District among Wisconsin districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20251.61035 of 10440.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.51029 of 10613.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201122.1934 of 104610.7%★☆☆☆☆
20101.71025 of 10451.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20096.5982 of 10304.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20082.5992 of 10212.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20077.1646 of 6896.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20065.9667 of 7126.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200520.7529 of 63216.3%★☆☆☆☆
20047.2588 of 6337.1%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202516.4136 of 1445.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202434.686 of 13737.2%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202420.9255 of 2695.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20252.2990 of 10011.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.2974 of 10113.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20251.9993 of 10000.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.1982 of 10123.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20259.6798 of 8020.5%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20250.0718 of 7180.0%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
African American (2025)6th percentile+5 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)5th percentile~ school
Female (2025)1st percentile~ school
Male (2025)1st percentile~ school
Special Education (2025)<1st percentile~ school
White (2025)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?
Social Studies12%-52 vs state
Mathematics5%-48 vs state
English Language Arts3%-49 vs state
Science0%-51 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Merrill Elementary

Students at Merrill Elementary are 55% African American, 21% Hispanic, 12% White, 11% Two or more races.

Students who attend Merrill Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Aldrich Intermediate
High : Memorial High

Merrill Elementary ranks in the bottom 0.9% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 224 students attended Merrill Elementary.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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